Cold War tensions were reignited on Sunday after a Russian state television program unveiled a map revealing several targets for a potential nuclear strike in the United States, including the Pentagon, Camp David, and military bases in California, Maryland, and Washington. One expert claims that F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside of Cheyenne would be a more likely target.

Author Stephen Schwartz identified Warren AFB as one of the three top-priority targets for a nuclear attack in his book Atomic Audit along with Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The proliferation of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles at each site would make them prized targets for a Russian offensive.

While the three sites were strategically located away from major population centers, the impact of a nuclear strike at F.E. Warren could still be catastrophic. Areas impacted by radioactive fallout from a nuke could stretch for hundreds of miles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ramped up his rhetoric in recent months, warning that the recently developed Tsirkon missile could reach targets inside the United States "within five minutes". Last week, Putin compared the current situation to the Cuban Missile Crisis which pushed the two superpowers to the verge of nuclear annihilation in the 1960s.

"For now, we're not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant," host Dmitry Kiselyov insisted on the state-sponsored Russian television program 'Vesti Nedeli'.

While Schwartz believes the list of potential targets is a smokescreen, he also downplayed the threat of a nuclear strike on American soil.

"It's exceedingly unlikely that such an attack would be fully successful," he told Business Insider.

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